The governments of the United States and Saudi Arabia have called on the United Nations (UN) to designate a non-governmental organization in Bosnia as a terrorist entity and add its representative to the list of persons tied to Al-Qaeda.

In a December 23 news release, the US Treasury Department said that the request concerns Vazir, the Bosnian-based branch of a Saudi charity. The branch re-registered under a new name after a UN committee imposed anti-terrorist sanctions on the group, the department said.

The US government also has announced the terrorist designation for Liechtenstein-based organization Hochburg, which assumed a new name after the UN committee recognized it as a terrorist entity.

Nearly $200 million in terrorist-related assets have been seized or frozen since September 2001, said the US Treasury Department. Pipelines of financing that once funneled millions of dollars to terrorists have been dismantled and 315 individuals and organizations have been designated as terrorists or as part of terrorist support networks. — (menareport.com)